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Head-logs and Other Protection Above the Interior Crest |
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As an attacking body of troops advanced within easy musket range
of a field work the defenders crouching down on the banquette tread under
cover of the parapet or along the bottom of a trench suddenly popped up in
unison to deliver a crushing volley before continuing to fire by file. Popping
up meant, of course, that the defenders had to raise their heads and shoulders
above the level the interior crest of the parapet. A well arranged attack
took advantage of this exposure by including specially detailed firing parties
composed of particularly adapt marksmen whose object was to reduce opposition
to the advance of the storming party by picking the defenders off as they
popped up or stood upright in one place to re-load and fire again. Given
a sufficiently strong and talented firing party, the defenders would eventually
be discouraged from poking their
During the American Civil War the period in which a field work's defenders were exposed to well aimed hostile fire increased as the distance between opposing entrenched lines became compressed. This occurred either when an attacking force entrenched as it approached the defenders' line prior to an assault or after a repulse when it entrenched rather than continue its retreat to a point well away from the threat of counter attack. As the threat of hostile action became ever more prolonged and persistent the destructive implications of raising above the interior crest to deliver fire became more immediate and needful of a safer alternative. Several alternatives were either known before the war or developed during the war to produce an extra degree of cover above the interior crest that would allow troops to delivered aimed fire without excessive exposure.
Sand-bag loop-holes were formed by placing two sand-bags a few
inches apart on the superior slope just above the interior crest with their
long ends perpendicular to the direction of the parapet. One or two more
As troops became responsible for constructing their own protective
works independent of an army's engineering establishment other devices that
could be hastily put together using readily available materials were developed
to provide cover above the interior crest. Notched or loop-holed timbers
were used at the Siege of Vicksburg. These consisted of a long squared timber
or raw log with notches or loop-holes cut about half through the thickness
of the timber at 3 or 4 foot intervals. The notched side of the timber was
laid on the superior slope of a parapet or protective embankment to form
a series of small openings that allowed troops
If head-logs did not provide as much cover as sand-bag loop-holes
or notched timbers, they could be thrown
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January, 2004 |
heads up above the interior crest. If this happened and the
defenders' musket fire was suppressed, the attacking troops' working parties
could dismantle obstacles so that the storming party could go forward in
order, enter the ditch, and begin scaling the scarp to mount the parapet.
In short, a good defense required that the defenders lining a parapet or
trench be able to deliver a heavy and persistent fire.
sand-bags were placed on top of these with their length running
parallel to the direction of the parapet. This created a small opening that
was just wide enough and tall enough for a man to insert the muzzle of his
musket and still aim and fire it with effect. While the small opening did
limit the field of fire, even without an impose limit the general assumption
was that fire would be delivered in a direction perpendicular to the line
of the interior crest.
to rest their muskets on the superior slope and take easy aim
at their targets. Like sand-bag loop-holes notched timbers had the advantage
of providing both top and side cover so that a bullet would actually have
to enter the small notch to take effect. Notches could either be cut straight
through the timber or shaped as loop-holes with the interior side several
inches wider than the exterior side to give a wider field of fire.
Common head-logs were a much more attractive alternative
for armies in the field that could abandon a hastily fortified position even
more quickly than they could occupy it. This type of head cover (sometimes
called top-logs) consisted of a large diameter raw log placed on top of blocks
or skids a few feet from the interior crest of a parapet or trench embankment.
The blocks or skids raised the log high enough for troops to pass their muskets
under the log and rest them on the protective
earthen embankment to steady their aim. Blocks could be made
from raw logs about several feet long and 4 or 5 inches in diameter hewn
flat on two sides or from squared timber. Skids were basically small logs
cut long enough to extend from the top of a protective embankment to the
rear side of a trench, their purpose being to catch the log if it happened
to be struck by artillery and send it rolling over the heads of the men in
the trench rather than tumbling down on them. In either case, head-logs were
usually pinned in place using small pickets driven into the embankment on
both sides of the log. Unlike notched timbers, head-logs created a long open
slit along the top of the parapet that did not provide side cover for troops
firing under them.
up quickly without an ounce of excess labor. While a good hardwood
top-log was preferable, the simple method of construction allowed almost
any bullet resistant material of suitable dimensions to be used. One photograph
of Confederate rifle trenches at Atlanta shows, for example, rails taken
from a nearby railroad used in place of top-logs.
